Sports equipment racks for vehicles typically include a pair of crossbars configured to extend across a vehicle roof width-wise for securing recreational equipment items. Typically, each crossbar is attached to the vehicle roof via a pair of towers.
Many different types of rack towers are known, and may be configured to be attached to a vehicle roof in any of a number of different ways. For example, some rack towers are configured for attachment to rain gutters. Others are designed for attachment to vehicle roof rails. Roof rails are elongate, linear, rigid structures mounted to the roofs of many vehicles, often by the vehicle manufacturer. A vehicle with roof rails typically has two rails running in parallel at least partially along the length of the roof. Roof rails may include a slotted track containing one or more mounts or connectors. Roof rails may be raised or flush with respect to the vehicle roof.
One of the problems with existing towers for securing crossbars on top of vehicles is that the variability in rail configurations requires numerous different tower designs. This places a manufacturing and design burden on manufacturers which increases product costs. The complexity of rail and tower designs also complicates the purchasing process for consumers who must determine which tower design is most appropriate for a given rail configuration. Consumers typically need to select from a line of tower designs configured to fit specifically small raised rails, large raised rails, and flush rails. Reduction of the number of tower products required to fit the various types of vehicle roof rails is an important objective.